


Friends Will Be Friends II

by shynawkward



Series: Friends Will Be Friends [2]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, i don't know how to tag, part two of friends will be friends, the boys are back home, they love eachother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-09-28 18:23:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17188064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shynawkward/pseuds/shynawkward
Summary: The Boys find themselves back home and dealing with the aftermath of the horrible happenings in Japan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my fellow Queenies. I am back with part two of my series.  
> I really hope you will enjoy it just as much!♥

Short Prologue. 

During a Queen tour through Japan Roger suffers from appendicitis which he happens to ignore until it is almost too late. So, the boys spent almost an entire month in hospital fearing and worrying for their drummer who eventually gets better and is allowed to go back to England.

Throughout his stay, Roger starts blaming himself for what happened plus the media isn’t doing a great job by telling and publishing lies about QUEEN’s Drummer to help either, which makes everything only harder for him. 

However, though, he has friends who he can trust, who love him and who help him.  
Because Friends, as you know, will always be friends.

 

********************

“Ahh, home, sweet home!” Freddie breathed out as soon as he stepped inside their little flat in London, not far from Kensington Market.  
Finally, after almost being on the way for 24 hours and spending so long in Japan, they were back home in their safe place and what the four men called their home. 

The others followed right after, smiling from one ear to the other just as happy and relieved as Freddie. 

John went straight into the kitchen to make coffee. He actually preferred tea, though, after such a long and exhausting journey like this, he needed something stronger than tea, plus it was only 1:30 pm and they decided to stay awake until at least 8 - or 9 pm, so their jetlag wouldn’t be too much of a bitch. Well, what means “they agreed”, it was actually Brian’s idea and he somehow managed to convince the others.

Speaking of Brian, the guitarist immediately followed John into the kitchen but headed straight to the fridge instead. The food in the plane was the worst. He was asking for something vegetarian but what he got instead didn’t seem like a vegetarian dish at all so he sadly but kindly declined the food every time he was offered some. The only thing he had eaten was some peanuts they got as a snack from time to time, which was nice but nothing that could possibly manage to fill his stomach. 

However, when he opened the fridge he was greeted with disappointment. 

‘Right, they haven’t been home for quite some time. Of course, the fridge was empty.’ 

This wasn’t entirely true though, it wasn’t completely empty. Three beer cans, Roger’s favorite, were to see but that was about it. With a big and frustrated sigh, he closed the door again before searching through the cupboards to find something edible.  
With success; he soon found a bag of potato crisps. At least something. 

Roger who was being the last one to enter their flat, headed straight to the sofa and quickly let himself fall down on it, head first against the pillow, letting out a loud moan. 

Needless to say, that the journey back home was hardest for him. He barely got any sleep; his stomach was hurting and so was his head and it still was. Every now and then he had to head to the toilet to throw up the little bit he had eaten during the flight, always accompanied by either Freddie, John or Brian to make sure he was alright.  
Though, to be honest, it actually always had been Brian, because firstly, he had an aisle seat and secondly, because Freddie and John managed to sleep during the whole flight and were only awake for food. How they did it was a mystery to the guitarist but he didn’t mind and he hadn’t had the heart to wake them up, anyway. 

However, other than the vomiting and the headache there were no other complications who needed any medical assistance, (- which in case of the worst would have been performed by Miami Beach’s friend who happened to be a doctor and who was joining the band.)

 

“Don’t fall asleep, Darling!” Freddie called from across his room, door wide open.  
“Remember what we agreed on?” He added as he was about to make his way to the bathroom to take a shower. 

Roger let out a desperate “ugh” before raising his head, his long blonde hair all over the place, to look a Freddie, who was now only wearing a bathrobe.  
“There is no way in hell I agreed on that,” Roger said, his eyes only half open before laying his head back against the pillow. He remembered the conversation, though he couldn’t really recall himself actually agreeing on it.

“No one except Roger is allowed to sleep, Freddie, remember?” John said as he entered the living room, sipping on his coffee before making himself comfortable in his armchair. (- Well, he always said was his but it was actually Freddie’s, he didn’t mind though.)

“Deacy is right. No one except Rog.” Brain interfered, following John into the living room with the bag of potato crisps in his hands.  
“He needs sleep day and night. You seem to have forgotten that our poor drummer here-;” the guitarist stopped shortly, smiling a bit, his voice filled with sympathy as he sat down next to Roger on the sofa.  
“- was awake the whole flight puking his guts out while you and John were sleeping soundly.” 

“He has got a point there, Fred.” John simply added with a nod, taking another sip of his coffee. 

“I know, I know. I remember Darlings. You are right.” The lead singer quickly gave in.  
“And about the ‘sleeping in the plane situation’, my dear, you know I need my beauty sleep.” He added, running both of his hands down his long black hair. John was about to make a sassy comment but quickly closed his mouth as Freddie gave him a look as if he knew the bassist was about to say something. He walked over to the bassist to take a sip of his coffee instead only to find it empty.  
Deacy just gave him a ‘Well, not today, my friend- look’ to which Freddie just huffed in amusement.  
“Anyway, I am going to take a shower. Anyone who needs to use the bathroom? I probably won’t come out for the next hour or so.” He asked everybody around. 

“Nah, I’m good,” John said with a yawn.

“Yes, same. I’m fine. Go ahead, Fred.” Brian answered, chewing on his crisps. 

“Roger, Darling, how about you?” Freddie asked, though there was no reaction coming from the blonde drummer whatsoever.

John was leaning forward to take a better look at Roger, also waiting for a response. 

“Hey, Rog?” Brian was now the one asking and who was also sitting right next to him.  
He couldn’t see his face though because the moment the guitarist sat down next to the blonde, he leaned his head against the taller man’s shoulder. 

“Oh well, looks like our ‘Poor Drummer’-.” Freddie started, emphasizing the two words to imitate Brian who had said it just minutes ago in the same tone.  
“-fell asleep. I didn’t think your shoulders would be that comfortable, honey.” Freddie laughed slightly, looking from Brian to Roger who was sleeping very softly, breathing steadily. 

“Oh, wait until he starts drooling, Bri,” John added as the other two men continued chuckling.

Even though the three friends were laughing about the scene in front of them, they felt happiness inside them which they haven’t felt for a long time. They would never be able to explain how thankful they were to be back home together now. Safe and Sound.  
Of course, they all knew that a lot was yet to come; that there was a lot they would have to deal with; a lot to face but right now they didn’t want to think about it. Right now, they just wanted to enjoy the peaceful place they found themselves in right now. Home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies! So This chapter is a bit longer and a bit angstier than the previous one, I still hope you are going to enjoy it!  
> Also, thank you all so much for your support on my other fic and the first chapter of this one.♥

The four boys managed to get over that awful jetlag quite quickly, even Roger was recovering from it surprisingly fast although he hadn’t followed Brian’s plan that he came up with.

Roger was still getting better with each passing day. His face didn’t look so awfully slim and pale anymore, his cheeks were back on being soft, round and full, which especially was noticeable when he was smiling or laughing, which thankfully was happening more often than it was happening in the past month.  
He was also back at playing the drums every day which he was obviously neglecting when he was lying in hospital. So, therefore, he built up the muscles again, especially in his upper arms. He could eat without worrying to bring it all up again, too which even caused him to put on a bit more weight. Brian, Freddie, and John would never admit it in front of the blond but they were even happy about the fact that Roger’s little temper tantrums were back too. It just showed them that he slowly but surely was getting back into the state he had been in before the whole Japan incident. 

Though, there were still times the blond was withdrawn into himself. The blame.  
This mainly occurred at night, when he was lying in bed wide awake, everyone asleep but him. It was that one dream he had back in Tokyo. It was haunting him. It was always the same dream; the same dream over and over again, yet every time he had to go through it, it felt different; it felt worse, somehow. He couldn’t explain it. Several nights he had spent in bed crying until exhaustion took over and he eventually managed to fall asleep.  
Though, Roger carried it off quite well and to be honest mostly he didn’t even think about them during the day. He just kept telling himself that eventually those nightmares would disappear and he would be completely fine again. It wasn’t like that he didn’t learn from his mistakes at all, the drummer knew that talking about what was bothering and worrying him was better than keeping it all to himself. Therefore, the blond made a little promise to himself that if those dreams wouldn’t disappear until the end of this month, he would talk to someone about it. May it be Brian, John or Freddie or just all of them. He didn’t care, he knew he could trust everybody the same.

Little did he or the other two men know though, that Brian was suffering from almost the same thing. Ever since the ambulance ride, he was smitten with nightmares as well. Other than the drummer he was dreaming something different all the time, though it was always involving Roger in some way. It was preying on his mind still, more than he actually thought at the beginning when he first had those dreams. Brian wasn’t stupid either, he was well aware that it was nothing to be trifled with it, yet also he did not want to talk about it; not just yet. His main priority at the moment, just like it was for John and Freddie, was Roger getting better. He himself would be okay eventually.

So, despite those nightmares, the drummer and the guitarist had to deal with and the guilt that Roger was still carrying inside of him, it was almost like everything was back to normal. 

Well, almost though; there was yet another thing. A thing that was still eating on all four of them.

Of course, there was. How could it be any different, anyway?  
Fate seemed to not want to give them a break; not yet. 

And this other problem was, yes you guessed right, the annoying Media; the made-up stories about Roger’s supposedly alcohol and drug use, the lies but there was something else added to it that made the whole thing even worse. 

Pictures. 

There have been pictures before from the actual concert and the moment he collapsed. Now, however, pictures came to light the boys themselves had no idea of existing.

Those were photographs and even video recording of the friends at the airport and on the plane and obviously later back in Heathrow too. The thing though was that neither of them had any ideas on how and when they actually have been taken. The men were almost certain they managed to leave the country with no one noticing them, without drawing any attention on them, they actually made sure of it plus they hadn’t seen anybody with a camera either. 

Though the morning after they had arrived and Freddie turned on the TV and John opened the newspapers, the two men were bombarded with new lies and the just mentioned photographs as well as videos. They weren’t any worse, they mainly showed a weak and pale Roger Taylor partly supported by the others because of his unsteady walking and exhausted and tired state. Especially during the flight and after the landing the drummer had been looking like total shit. To tell the truth not even the boys had any idea that their drummer had looked like that. It was almost like those photos were photoshopped just so the journalists could come up with other headlines that didn’t stretch the truth. (- but I mean those were the 70s we are talking about, no one could possibly know of such thing. ) 

Needless to say, that they tried to hide it from Roger in order to protect him but without success. Roger found out the moment he stepped out of his room, like a sudden instinct it had hit him. It was only natural that the day it happened only could get worse after that. Well, that was what the drummer thought but his friends managed to lighten up his mood quite well and quickly afterwards.

Though, everyone including Roger knew that they couldn’t ignore the fact that sooner or later they had to deal with it, to deal with setting things right if they wanted or not. 

*****

“Okay, I think that calls for a band discussion, my Darlings!” Fried exclaimed, clapping his hands as he jumped up from where he was sitting, causing the others to wince.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, about a week after their actual arrival back home, and the Friends just finished the Pizza Roger had brought after he had been to the doctors that morning. It was just for some minor checks, just to make sure everything was healing well and he was alright.

They had been talking about some more bullshit that Roger had to listen to when getting the Pizza. By now he was a bit more comfortable to talk about it yet it didn’t mean he liked it or that it helped him to stop the guilt and blaming himself any less or to boost his self-consciousness at that matter, although his friends reassured him that there was still nothing to blame himself for on daily basis.  
But it is a known fact that those things were always easier said than done. 

Roger would just nod, trying to play it cool, to act like he didn’t care about it anymore anyway; let it look like it didn’t bother him, which, as you can imagine, didn’t work with his friends. They knew in the blink of an eye that their drummer tried to hide how much it actually hurt him. They knew him too well.

 

“Now?! Are you serious, Fred?” Roger was the first one to react, looking over at the others and back to Freddie.  
“Can’t we just do it some time later. I’m really not in the mood right now.” He continued, chewing on the last piece of Pizza.  
“and besides I’m still eating here.” He quickly added, gesturing at the empty pizza box, searching for an excuse to postpone it.

“Firstly honey, you just finished the last piece and you had more than all of us together and secondly you are never in the mood for any band discussions.” Freddie answered as Brian and John gave Roger a ‘He has got a point there’ – look. 

“All right then.” The drummer huffed, looking a bit offended but knew what Freddie had to talk about was important.  
“Go ahead,” Roger added after swallowing the piece he was chewing on, sitting up straight. It hit him right then. His expression suddenly filled with concern, he was almost certain to know what Fred would have to say and he knew he wouldn’t like talking about it, even though they had to.  
He felt Brian’s hand on his back who was sitting right next to him on the sofa and who immediately noticed how tensed up the blond suddenly was getting. The guitarist gave him smile as reassurance that everything is going to be fine to which Roger just smiled weakly.

“Right. So, I had a talk with our beloved Miami this morning.” Freddie started before inserting a dramatic pause. 

“Let me guess he doesn’t like his new name anymore?” John asked dryly to which Brian and Roger couldn’t help but to snort in amusement. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Darling. He loves his new name.” Fred answered while putting his hand on his hips since he was the only one standing. 

“Sure.” John huffed, smiling cheekily, before leaning back into his armchair. 

“Anyway, the proposed date for the press conference we asked for to set things right.” He continued and immediately their eyes wandered into Roger’s direction, who didn’t say anything but suddenly got almost as pale as he was at the day he fainted on stage.  
“-at the end of next week.” The lead singer quickly added. 

The drummer knew that this was coming yet he was filled with nerviness; anxious. He started to shake slightly and a cold shiver ran down his spine at the thought of it 

“You alright, Rog?” Brian asked, who noticed the blond trembling next to him.

“Wha-? Yes. Yeah, I’m fine.” He faked a smile after a few seconds of silence.

“Mate, I bet we can postpone it if it’s too soon. It doesn’t necessarily have to be next week.” John said to which Brian, as well as Fred, only nodded.

“Nah. It needs to be done anyway. I want this to get over with.” He continued, noticing the way the others looked at him, almost in awe. 

“You know, we can always call Miami and ask him for another date. I’m sure he would understand.” John offered.

“Yes, I mean there is no pressure of time, really.” The guitarist pointed out, his voice merciful just like John’s had been.

“Yes, lovie take your time.” Freddie brought in, his voice filled with the same tone as Brian’s and John’s.  
“Are you really sure, dear? As Deacy said, we can always-“ Freddie started again after there was nothing coming from the blond.  
Everybody looking at him with sympathy but the lead singer never came to end his sentence.

“YES!” Roger almost screamed and the room suddenly went quiet, everyone looking shocked.  
“YES! I FUCKING AM!” He repeated himself as tears were forming itself in his eyes as he stood up and rushed into his room, slamming the door behind him.  
He knew he was overrating and hell, he didn’t even know himself why he snapped at his friends like this, but it was just too much. He couldn’t take it anymore. On the one hand, he knew his friends meant well and just wanted to make sure he was alright and fine with it all and he really appreciated it but on the other hand, he was sick of being treated like a little boy who can’t look out for himself 24/7; getting handled with kids gloves; he was sick of the others pitying him.

The boys still looked at the blonde’s door he had just slammed before sharing a concerned look but no one actually dared to say anything.

Once he was alone in his room, the drummer threw himself on the bed, putting his face into his pillow as he finally lets his tears stream down his face; tears of anger and frustration but also shame, regret and guilt. 

He hated to be the reason that the press conference had to take place in the first place.  
He hated to be the one who caused all this.  
He hated to be the one whose fault it all was after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you liked it. Please, please let me know in the comments.  
> I am still worried about the fact I might not get the character right, I would love to hear some opinions on that too. Thank you for reading.l  
> Take care Y'all!♥


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And chapter three!  
> Please enjoy!♥

Freddie, Brian, and John hoped in vain for Roger to come out of his room that day after their conversation. They still had been quite shocked and didn’t really understand what drove Roger to snap at them like that but they sure believed that there must be a reasonable reason for that. After all, this was Roger, it wasn’t uncommon for him to act like that. 

Though they still did speculate about what exactly they did or said wrong they couldn’t really think of anything. Obviously, they never intended for this conversation to take an end as it did. Especially for Roger, the three friends tried to take it slow to not overwhelm him with the fact that they would have to face the press eventually, that sooner or later this was to be put forward. There was no getting around it and they just wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to be too much for the blonde. In the three friend’s eyes, he was still weak and still needed his time. 

 

Anyway, as mentioned, Roger stayed in his room for the whole day, only came out if he needed to use the bathroom. When this was the case, he was quite quick so that the others could barely even catch a glance at him. Well, at least they knew he was all right health-wise that was, if they wouldn’t have seen or heard anything of him, they probably would have started to worry even more.  
What exactly he did though, if it was sleeping or just lying awake in bed or whatever, the three men couldn’t tell. They knocked at his door a couple of times, apologizing for whatever they did; trying to get him to talk and to come out but nothing was coming from him, so eventually, they gave up, thinking it would be best to leave him alone and give him his space. 

 

It was after midnight now. Freddie had left a few hours ago to meet up with Mary and John had already said Goodnight to Brian quite early in the evening, claiming to be tired. Also, Roger had fallen asleep not too long ago. He was still mad when he did so but more at himself as at the others. The drummer regretted his behavior and the way he snapped at his friends without a doubt. A couple of times he played with the thought to apologize to them but he was too ashamed to do so. Too ashamed of his own actions. It could wait until the next day, he thought.

Brian was the only one who was still awake or so he thought. The guitarist was quite tired himself yet he couldn’t bring himself to go to bed; he didn’t want to because he was afraid of having one of those awful dreams again. It was wrong, he knew that but especially after today he just couldn’t handle it; couldn’t face it.

 

However, now he sat on the sofa, on the exact same spot he had been sitting before Roger stormed into his room, though now more relaxed than before, his guitar right beside him and revising a new song he came up with in Japan.  
He was just about to grab his guitar to quietly play some chords as he suddenly heard the sound of a door slowly opening. At first, Brian thought Freddie would be back home, though as he realized that the front door to their flat was still shut his head wandered over to the other side of the room only to find John quietly leaving his room. The bassist didn’t pay any attention to Brian and the older man knew in instinct that he hadn’t even noticed him. Not yet at least.

Even though Brian couldn’t see his friend’s face since his long brown hair was all over the place and the light in their flat dim, he was sure his eyes were only half open and from the way he was walking, he seemed rather exhausted. 

Deacy made his way directly into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Brian could tell from the sound of the water when he turned on the tap and not too long after he could hear the kettle boiling. After he was finished John returned back from the kitchen but instead of disappearing into his room again, he chose the living room. 

 

As he spotted Brian he almost let go of his cup.

“Jesus! Brian!” John breathed out in shock as he stopped immediately and placed his free hand on his chest.

Brian just chuckled.  
“Sorry, mate.” He said with a tired smile. 

John just laughed slightly in response, shaking his head to let his friend know that there is no need to be sorry.  
“How come you are still awake?” He then asked after a short pause while taking a look at the clock, noticing it was just a few minutes past 12:30 am.

“I should ask you the same question.” Brain stated, putting his guitar, he had picked up seconds ago, aside.

John just shrugged before sitting down next to the guitarist, slowly though to make sure his tea wouldn’t spill over.  
“Can’t sleep.” He eventually replied, his voice breaking at the end before looking from Brian down to the floor to avoid his friend’s gaze. The other man frowned as he took a closer look at John.

It was then that Brian noticed just how exhausted he actually looked. It was unlike John, he normally was the one who got the most sleep out of all four of them. Now, however, he seemed to be more beaten than ever almost as much as he was in the first two weeks they had spent in hospital waiting for Roger to get better. He had dark circles under his eyes which were more noticeable now since his face was pale and sweaty, even some wisps of his long wavy brown hair were sticking to his neck. 

“You sure it’s just that?” Brian frowned, his voice filled with concern.

There was a long silence, too long for Brian’s liking before John finally looked up at him again, suddenly close to tears before he shook his head. 

“Hey, Deacs. What’s wrong?” His voice softer and more worried than before.  
“Talk to me.” Brian tried again, placing his hand on his back as a comforting gesture.  
“You know you can talk to me.”

The bassist nodded slowly.  
“I know, I –“ He trailed off, stopping a couple of tears who were about to make their ways down his cheeks, hoping Brian wouldn’t notice.  
“It’s Rog.” He said after a short break.  
“I-I have those dreams.” He began again and Brian’s heart dropped. 

A nightmare. He woke up because of a nightmare. 

So, he wasn’t the only one who was haunted by those unpleasant dreams. Brian wondered if Freddie would suffer from the same thing. And what about Roger? Though before he could continue with his thoughts John was speaking up again. 

“I-I can see him right there. Right in his bed. This terrible hospital bed.” He continued looking down at the cup of tea in his hands again, shaking his head as if he was hoping those pictures in his mind would vanish, just like that and everything would be back to normal.  
“I want to help him. So badly but every time I take a step closer to him the pain he is in gets worse and – and he starts screaming. And-“ He stuttered as he looked up and into Brian’s worried face.  
“-and he starts shaking. Just like he did when- when he had this fit.” John paused once more, stopping a few more tears that were about to escape his eyes. 

There was short silence between the two men once again. Brian was thinking if he should tell his friend about his own dreams as well but eventually decided against it, thinking it wouldn’t really help the current situation. He felt sorry for John. He felt sorry about the fact that he was going through the same things that Brian was going through and he wished he could do anything to help; to stop it but he knew that there was nothing he could possibly do. 

“I’m glad you told me.” Brian suddenly said as John just smiled weakly back at him, positive surprised. 

“Of course.” He answered, so silently that he himself couldn’t really hear it.

The guitarist knew that the younger man didn’t need; didn’t want any sympathy; he didn’t need someone who would just say ‘I’m Sorry’ and that would be it. No, Deacy just needed someone who would listen to him; someone with whom he could share his worries, thoughts, and doubts. Because also he knew that there was nothing his friend could do to help him stop it. Simply talking about it and having someone who listened was more than enough. 

“Thank you.” John simply said before sipping on his tea, already feeling a bit better.

Brian just nodded as reassurance. He wanted to open his mouth to suggest that they both should probably head back to bed as suddenly they heard a quiet but still hearable stud from the other side of the room.  
Both men turned they head at the same time only to find their drummer standing in the doorway, close to tears. 

Alarms bells starting to ring in their heads.  
Had he stood there the whole time? What if he heard everything they had talked about? Would he feel more guilt? After all the blonde already blamed himself for causing so many troubles. Knowing his friends were having nightmares because of him probably didn’t really help either. 

 

“Rog-“ Brian began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hoped you liked it.  
> This time it was mainly focused on Brian and John, hope you didn't mind.  
> Please let me know in the comments.  
> Thanks for reading.♥
> 
> Also a little pre-warning. I am on a ski trip that started today which means updates could be quite slow in the next week but I will do my best.♥


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  
> Here is chapter 4 for you!!  
> Enjoy!♥

Roger didn’t move nor did he speak. He stood still, like frozen. He wanted to say something but he didn’t know what. He wanted to apologize for earlier but now that the had listened to the other two men speaking he wanted to apologize for that too. 

He was at the edge of tears but somehow, they didn’t want to come out. No yet. His head was spinning and his heart was racing like crazy.

Could this be? Had he heard right? Were they talking about him?

He wasn’t quite sure because he hadn’t listened to the whole conversation. When he first heard his friends talking, he couldn’t really make out his name. John just referred to the person in his dreams as a ‘He/Him’ and that this person was in immense pain but then he mentioned the ‘Fit’.  
And as soon as that word came out of John’s mouth Roger knew in instinct that the person Deacy was referring to was indeed him, who else could it be? It would only make sense. 

The drummer felt such hate towards himself swelling up in him. That wasn’t fair. That wasn’t right. He never intended for his friends to suffer from the same emotional pain he was suffering from. 

He thought about if Freddie and Brian would go through the same thing. He wanted to know although he was so afraid of the answer. What if he struggled too?

Roger took a step backward so that his back hit the wall behind him with a slight thud before quickly taking a step forward again. He prayed that his friends haven’t heard it but of course, they did. How could it be any different? He couldn’t be that lucky for once.

 

“Rog-“ He heard Brian saying who was looking up from where he was sitting and right into his eyes, his voice shaking as if he had no idea what to say. 

And it was true in a way. He didn’t know what to say and neither did John. On the one hand they wanted to ask how he was feeling and if he was all right, also did they want to apologize for what happened earlier but on the other hand they felt the urge to ask him what he had heard; how long he was standing there for and tell him that he wasn’t the one to blame for their dreams, for John’s dreams.  
Brian felt relief that he hadn’t said anything about his dreams to John yet. He couldn’t and wouldn’t want to imagine how this would have ended. It was bad enough already that the blond now knew that John was suffering from nightmares which obviously really affected the bassist and that the main person involved was him; Roger.

 

Both Brian and John had the same worried and almost scared expression in their faces while looking at the drummer, his expression wasn’t any different from theirs.

“Roger-“ John started now, noticing the guitarist was unable to speak.  
“We didn’t see you there. I’m so- “

“Stop.” Roger suddenly interrupted him, but not in a mean nor a bad way. No, more in a very gently and almost apologetic way.  
“Please. Just … stop.” He continued. Both men on the sofa looking up at him in surprise.

From the place where the drummer had stood still like frozen a couple seconds ago, he now slowly made his way over to his friends. Before he actually did so, Roger once again played with the thought to just disappear back into his room, to avoid them and everything that was happening but he knew this wouldn’t help at all and it wasn’t fair either. He needed his friends and they needed him. He caused enough troubles and the least he could do was standing up for himself, he owed him.

Roger opened his mouth, about to say something and to continue with what he had to say to his friends as suddenly the front door swung wide open and in stumbled a not completely drunk but still rather tipsy Freddie. 

 

“Well, hello my Darlings. How are you?” He blurted out into the living room, smiling wide. His eyes only focused on John and Brian, he hadn’t noticed Roger yet, who was still standing a bit further away from the others.

No one said anything.

“Okay, not all at once.” He said in a sarcastic tone but smiled anyway at his two friends, who were now looking back at him in disbelief.  
Freddie always had been awful when it came to his timing but this capped everything.  
“What are you two still doing awake in the middle of the night?” 

Still, no reply as Freddie simply shrugged. 

“Did you guys hear anything from our dear Roggie?” He tried once more, unzipping his coat.  
“Did he finally come out of his cupboard?” He joked, thinking back to the time at Rockfield farm as he finally turned around, now facing Roger. He stopped chuckling instead he let out a shriek and jumped a bit in surprise.

Brian and John couldn’t believe it. They were so close to getting Roger to talk and now?

“Bad Timing once again, Freddie.” The two friends on the sofa thought before letting out a loud sigh, shaking their heads in sync. They had no idea what to expect but they were thinking about the worst.

After Freddie had realized that it was indeed Roger who was standing right in front of him and who obviously heard the complete conversation, the lead singer just started smiling drunkenly at him. 

“Roger, Darling!” He suddenly exclaimed, putting both of his hand on each of Roger’s upper arms; shaking him softly.  
“You are here! You were missed tonight.” He continued, obviously implying to his night out after he met up with Mary. 

Roger didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what exactly. Not too long ago he found out about his friend having nightmares because of him. Not going to lie, but it was a bit overwhelming for him and not only for him.

There was a pause, both men just staring at each other.  
“I’m sorry.” Freddie breathed out all of the sudden after actualizing that there wouldn’t be coming any answer from his friends. So instead of saying something he promptly and very unexpectedly chose to hug the younger man in front of him.

The drummer didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t sure if he should be pissed and/or disappointed at him for his stupid comment from before or if he should just laugh and hug him back, ensuring him that it was all right. Even though he wasn’t quite sure for what exactly he was apologizing to him. But one thing was clear Freddie wasn’t the one who should be sorry, he himself was. So, therefore, the blonde decided for the latter much to John’s and Brian’s surprise and if they were confused before they were even more confused now.  
Everyone was used to Freddie being a funny and happy drunk but they didn’t quite understand why exactly he was reacting like he was just now. The friends, however, decided not to question it. Not now at least. This was Freddie after all, he had always been unpredictable and no one knew what was coming next, but this was one of the million reasons why they loved him.

“Oh, by the way, my lovies, Mary sends her regards. Said she would like to catch up with you all soon.” Freddie said shortly after he pulled back from the hug, now looking from Roger over to Brian and John who were still quite confused.  
“Anyway!” He finally took off his coat and laid it aside.  
“Why is it you are all awake?” 

As still, no one was replying to Freddie, he continued impatiently.

“Okay, Darlings, I can’t be that drunk, can I? You all are really here, aren’t you? I know my ravishing beauty might make you speechless but I would really appreciate if you all just do me a favor and answer me already instead of looking at me as if I was some kind of God, which isn’t that wrong though.” 

On a good day, the others would have laughed about Freddie’s comment but not today.

“Just couldn’t sleep.” John finally replied.

“Thank the devil downstairs, someone spoke.” The lead-singer walked over to the two men on the sofa.  
“And why’s that, dear?” He took a closer look at the brunette and frowned, noticing his red eyes.

John just shrugged, actually not to keen to talk about it all over again.  
“Nightmare.” He mumbled, avoiding Freddie’s gaze as well as Roger’s, who knew exactly why he did so. The drummer hasn’t forgotten about what they were talking about just minutes before.

“You too?” Came from Freddie.

“Because of me!” Was what was coming from Roger at the exact same time as Freddie.

They all froze and Freddie never wished for being able to travel back in time to change what he had said as much as he was wishing for it now. 

“What-what do you mean you too?” Roger asked quietly, though he knew exactly what the singer meant. 

John and Brian were just as shocked, looking over from Roger to Freddie awaiting an answer. 

This was a mess. 

“Ahh nothing honey, everyone has nightmares from time to time.” Freddie shrugged it off, hoping they could just drop the topic. He would never want Roger to know that he was the one involved in his bad dreams.

“I-um, I believe that it’s best really if we all go to bed now and talk about those things in the morning. Don’t you think?” Brian suggested while looking over from John to Freddie who nodded eagerly before his eyes were searching for Roger’s but he couldn’t find them.  
Roger wasn’t where he was standing before instead, he was now aiming for the front door of their flat and about to take his jacket from the coat stand next to the door. He opened it before the others could react.

This was bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know your thought in the comments!  
> I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with how it continued.  
> Take care you all!!♥


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 everyone!!  
> I hope you enjoy! I know that some of you will like the end of this one!!♥
> 
> Tumblr: Roger-drummer-taylor

Roger never had been a fast runner or anything alike, but never in his life had he been running as fast as he was now. He knew in his condition he actually wasn’t allowed to do so but he couldn’t care less at this point. He could hear his friends calling after him as he was rushing down the stairs to actually leave the building and into the night but he tried to ignore it.

He just wanted to get away as far as possible. He wasn’t running because he wanted to get away from his friends. No, he was running because he was trying to run from himself; away from his problems, away from his doubts; his worries, the pain, just from everything that he was. It was a paradox, he was well aware of that but he had no idea what else to do other than to just run. 

After about 20 minutes of running, the pain in his abdomen started to get worse and worse and finally made him stop. He had overdone it, there was no question about it.  
Still out of breath and his heart racing like crazy, Roger continued walking now instead of running. He put his left hand on his stomach trying to control the pain. The drummer wasn’t sure if it was because of the awful mixture of emotions he was dealing with or if it was the actual physical pain that made him cry; he had been on the edge of tears before he actually left the flat but he wasn’t crying then. Well, maybe he wasn’t crying at all and those were just the cold raindrops in his face. He couldn’t tell anymore.

It was indeed very cold at the moment. The seasons were changing from summer to autumn, meant it was getting colder with each day. In Japan, it still had been quite warm when they had left but here in England it was completely different, especially in the middle of the night while it was pelting down with rain.

It was then that he realized that he was soaking wet and freezing too. Roger didn’t pay much attention to what jacket he actually had been taking when he left the building. He was just eager to get out as soon as only possible. 

Now he was walking here in the middle of the night, drenched, shivering and hurt and with absolutely no idea where to go. 

The drummer looked around trying to make out where he was as he realized that he actually wasn’t far from where Miami was living. But he couldn’t possibly knock at his door in the middle of the night asking for shelter, could he? It would mean that he had to explain himself and what had happened and he couldn’t do that, not now. Plus, Miami would probably be concerned as well and Roger really couldn’t handle knowing that he would end up worrying him too. It was bad enough that Freddie, Brian and John did already, involving someone else was a no-go for the blonde.

So, no! Showing up at Miami’s wasn’t really an option. 

What about a pub? There were millions here in London, especially around Kensington market. One must be open.  
The Drummer actually played with that thought for a while before actualizing that he had to face people if he would decide to do so and he really couldn’t and wouldn’t want to face anyone at the moment. He just wanted to be alone. 

Okay, so a pub wasn’t an option either. 

He sighed loudly as he put his hands into his pockets which made him stop walking immediately, looking downt at his right hand as he pulled out the keys that he had totally forgotten about.

The studio! 

The boys had been in the studio the other day, just practising a bit and Roger had been in charge of the keys; the keys he was holding in his hand right now!

He let out a silent prayer into the night.  
That was where he could be staying tonight. It wasn’t far, anyway; he would be alone which meant he didn’t have to face anyone, plus he could get out of his wet clothes because they always had spare clothes available due to the fact that they often got sweaty after long days of practising, especially Roger on the drums. In addition, they had a sofa there which he could use as a bed and if the blond was lucky, the little fridge would be filled with drinks as well. 

This sounded perfect and therefore that was the place he was heading to right now without thinking about it any further.

 

It didn’t take him too long to actually arrive there. Though he would have been faster if he wouldn’t have been in such immense pain which also caused some circulation problems so that he stumbled a couple of times. When that happened, he actually had to stop to take a little break, lucky for him that his stubborn mind kept him going in the end and eventually he made it in one piece. Well more or less. 

As soon as he arrived and opened the door, he headed towards the little side room where the sofa was placed.  
He took a look into the mini fridge across the room and grabbed one of the two beer cans that were still, to his surprise, left from days ago. As he did so, he threw himself onto the sofa, looking straight up at the ceiling. He didn’t even bother getting out of his soaked clothes at that point. He just wanted to forget.

When he had been outside, the rain and the few cars that were driving past him actually helped him to stay distracted but now that he was lying here, lost in thoughts and trying not to think of the pain he was in, he suddenly felt a loneliness inside him that he had never felt before and it hurt even more than his stomach and head together.

What was he actually doing?

Why was he always trying to hide and run away from his problems?  
Why couldn’t he just ask his friends for help? He knew they would help him. Hell, they were already helping him and he was just not realizing it; ignoring it.  
Stubborn idiot. 

He owed them so much; so much he would never be able to give it back to them.  
He would never be able to tell him how grateful he was for them. 

What he was doing now; running away? This was not the way to thank your best friends who did so much for you, was it? 

A wave of embarrassment suddenly hit him as he thought of that.

Oh, how he wished to be back with his friends and to make it up to them somehow.

But no! His friends were suffering because of him; still so, weren’t they?  
John and Freddie were having nightmares because of him, haven’t they? And he bet that Brain was probably having the same problem. Obviously, he wasn’t hoping for it but deep inside he knew it. He often heard him toss and turn in his bed and wandering around in the middle of the night.

What if after yesterday and today it was actually too late? Too late to ask for forgiveness? Again?

Roger wouldn’t blame them if this would indeed be the case but that didn’t make the thought of it hurt any less. 

He felt awful, sorry and was disgusted by his doings. 

It wasn’t fair towards his friends. His friends who always just wanted the best for him. 

He felt the sudden urge to just hug them and to feel their presence instead of being here in hiding in embarrassment.

~~~

Meanwhile and not too far away a scared and worried Freddie, Brian and John were rushing through the streets of London, searching for their blonde friend. They looked in every pub in the area they were living, every club they knew, every place they knew Roger liked to be when he needed to be alone but there was no sight of him whatsoever and no one seemed to have seen him either. 

It was about 3:30 am now and it was well understandable that with every minute that passed their concern grew. 

Where in hell could he possibly be?  
Where could he have disappeared to?  
Was he alright?  
Was he hurt?  
What if something happened to him?

So much was going on in the three men’s heads that they could barely keep track of it all. They felt awful. It was almost like back in Japan. 

They even called Miami, asking him if he had seen Roger but obviously, he was just as clueless as they were. Being the mom that Miami was, he offered his help but the boys kindly declined but thanked him anyway. He insisted on a call once they found Roger, though.

They almost wanted to give up as John thought of one more thing.

“The studio!” John had exclaimed all of the sudden and unexpected.  
“How could we be that stupid?!” He had looked at his two friends in front of him.  
“It’s basically our second home.” 

“Wasn’t he the one in charge of the keys anyway?!” Brian had added then, almost excited. 

All three men could kick themselves for not thinking about this any sooner. John was right, it was basically their second home. They almost spend more time there than at home in their flat.  
They searched and looked everywhere, how idiotic of them to not think of the studio. 

Without hesitation they made their ways to the mentioned place, almost running as fast as Roger had been running when he left the flat. By now the boys were soaking wet as well but they really couldn’t care less, they had other and more important things to worry about right now, for example their best friend. 

When the three friends arrived and recognized the lights that were shining through the windows of their ‘second home’, they wanted to scream in relief, though they decided not to until they knew Roger was actually really in there.

 

Brian opened the door very quietly, so he would not startle the man they were hoping to find in there. The guitarist was followed by John and then Freddie. All of them moving rather hesitant.  
As they discovered the source of the light that was coming from the little side room, their hearts were beating faster and faster, though they had no idea why. 

The door was half open, yet Brian decided to knock anyway. As there was no reaction, sound or voice coming from within he opened it fully.

And indeed, there their drummer was. Looking as vulnerable as ever, eyes red and swollen, face pale, hair wet and his body shivering while looking right into their faces. Obviously, he had heard the men entering the building as well as the knock at the door. 

Brian, Freddie and John, after stepping into the room facing their friend, didn’t move nor did they say anything. They didn’t know what to say and neither did Roger. 

They stayed like that for only a couple of seconds before all of the sudden Roger stood up from where he was sitting and started stumbling right towards them before trying to pull them all into a group hug.  
That kind of group hug they did whenever they found out good news or just simply before concerts. 

The other three reacted quickly and closed the little bit of space that was left between them. Smiling softly in relief but still worried. After all Roger’s movements and his facial expression which were both racked with pain, didn’t go unnoticed.

However though, they were quite surprised. They didn’t expected things to go like this. No, this was way better than what they actually thought was going to happen.

The friends could only hear the blonde’s sobs but didn’t say anything; they didn’t need to because they knew exactly what Roger wanted to say to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Thanks for keeping on reading my fic! Means more than you think!♥  
> Please let me know your thought in the comment!
> 
> Also huge thanks to my friend Logan who gave me some ideas for this chapter! Thank you!♥


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 is here everyone!!  
> Please enjoy!♥
> 
> Tumblr: Roger-drummer-taylor

It was between 4 and 5 in the morning when the four friends finally made it back. Everyone was tired and exhausted, not to mention that they were freezing in their drenched clothes, but at least they made it home in one piece; much to their relief, that is.

They could have easily walked back to their flat but since the weather only seemed to get worse and Roger’s state really wasn’t the best and they didn’t want to force him to move any more anyway, they decided to call for a taxi.

The boys didn’t talk much on the drive back. In fact, Roger hadn’t said anything at all after they pulled away from the group hug but he was smiling and calm, happy that his friends were here and he felt safe, safer than ever. His eyes were still red and his face pale from exhaustion and tiredness, though much to Roger’s own surprise his stomach was less of a bitch to him and so was his head, it was like a kind of magic.

Roger never had been good with expressing what he was feeling so he could only hope that the other three knew just how much it actually meant to him; how much it meant to him that they were here with him right here; right next to him, that they came for him although he was acting like a stubborn child; all over again. Hopefully, they would forgive him for that too. 

~~~

Anyway, back in the flat, each of them took a hot shower in quick succession to warm up, Roger being the first one, followed by Freddie, then John, leaving Brian to be the last one. While he was waiting for the others to get ready, he made sure to call Miami who earlier had insisted on the boys letting him know as soon as they found Roger.

Their manager let out a loud sigh when the guitarist mentioned the blonde’s name and that he was safely back home. He was indeed very concerned. He would probably never say it out loud or in front of either of the boys but after they had first called him, he didn’t manage to fall back asleep out of pure worrisome. These past months really drew them together and he started to care much more; more than he had expected himself. How could it be any different, anyway?

 

However, after everyone took their shower to warm up and afterward put on their pajamas, the sun was already about to rise. Obviously, they hadn’t gotten any sleep the last night and therefore they decide to catch up on some sleep now. Well, if that was still possible. 

Instead of everyone just disappearing into each of their rooms to get some rest they decided to stay together and sleep in the living room. No one really wanted to be alone right now, especially Roger. The lounge wasn’t the biggest but they still ended up and managed to put all their matrasses side by side so they had one big one to sleep on.  
Roger was glad Freddie suggested it; that it didn’t have to be him, because he thought about the exact the same thing but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to propose his idea.  
Freddie just gave him a wink as the others agreed on it. It really was as if he read his thoughts in that particular moment. The drummer was more than thankful for that but to be fair though, the lead singer always had been good in knowing what the others thought or wanted, especially when it came to Roger, it was one of his ‘from God-given gifts’ as he always put it.

Though before they actually laid down to try to get some sleep, Brian, John, and Freddie made sure Roger really was feeling well enough for now. Of course, he claimed to be feeling ‘fantastic’ but this only made the others give him looks that said ‘Are you fucking kidding me?!’.  
Roger actually had to laugh about that but, to the other men’s satisfaction, the blond explained that it was only his head that was slightly killing him but that his abdomen was much better than it had been before and this time it was believable. 

Despite that Brian still ended up preparing a hot-water-bottle for Roger, which he gladly accepted, thanking him with a soft smile. The guitarist knew just how much the blond had enjoyed using them for his stomach in Japan. 

 

So, there the four friends laid. At around six in the morning. All comfortably snuggled together, sharing one big blanket. It didn’t even take long that one by one they all fell into a deep, quiet and sound sleep. The first one being Freddie and the last on being Roger; Roger who drifted off to sleep with the sound of his friend's calm breathing. Deep inside he hoped it would stay that way; that no nightmares would haunt them tonight or more like this morning.  
He hadn’t forgotten about his friend’s dreams. How could he, anyway?

~~~~

When Roger woke up again, the sun was shining right into his face and when he turned around to hide his face in his pillow, he noticed the wonderful smell of coffee, eggs, and toast and something else that he couldn’t quite make out yet but it smelled just as delicious. It must be either Brian’s or John’s cooking.

The drummer didn’t open his eyes yet but still, he knew he was the last one to wake up because he could clearly hear Brian and Freddie argue about the fact that Fred desperately wanted Brian to cook some bacon for them and Brian telling him that if he wanted some, he should just do it himself. Every now and then there was one of John’s sassy comments following which Roger couldn’t help but smile about. 

It was like a typical morning in the QUEEN flat and it felt like last night/this early morning never happened. Roger wasn’t quite sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.  
Of course, the comfort of lying here and knowing he was safe back home with his friend, who cared for him and that everything seemed to be back to normal was a good thing but he still couldn’t get rid of the feeling of all the pain that he had caused; all the worries and troubles; that all of this had been his fault and that he actually didn’t deserve that; forgiveness from his friends.

The blonde couldn’t continue with his chain of doubtful thoughts as he noticed someone standing right where the rays of sunshine had been falling into the room and right into his face seconds before, now causing to leave a shadow on him. 

“Good Morning or should I say Good Afternoon, Darling!” The one who obviously turned out to be Freddie suddenly, exclaimed while examining him closely.  
“You can’t fool us, Dear, we are all well aware that you’re awake but just don’t want to get up!” He continued amused by the drummer trying to hide the fact that he was indeed awake. 

“Also, you must be hungry. The whole room is smelling of food, I would be seriously concerned if this wouldn’t wake you up.” Roger heard John saying who must be sitting in his favorite armchair on the other side of the bed of four mattresses they set up not too long ago.  
“I mean, no offense mate, but food is basically the only thing that makes you get up in the morning in the first place. We all know that.” He sassily added which caused the others to chuckle slightly, even Roger who couldn’t pretend to be asleep anymore as he let out an amused snort and eventually gave up, opening his eyes.

“Oh, look! Blondie decided it’s not funny to play dead anymore.” Fred laughed, walking over to John’s side.  
“Come on, our dear Brian cooked us some breakfast.” 

“Well, I don’t think you can call it breakfast at 2 pm anymore .” Brian interfered as he made his way to the dinner table to set it.  
“Good Morning, sleepyhead!” The guitarist added quickly smiling softly at the drummer.  
“How are you feeling?”

Roger let out a loud yawn as he sat up, rubbing his eyes after he ran his hand through his long blond hair, which was all over the place.  
“Definitely better than I have been a few hours ago.” The drummer answered smiling back at Brian, who just nodded happily before turning his head back to the food.

“When I say it’s breakfast it is breakfast, Brian Darling, even if it is 2 in the afternoon” Freddie decided, obviously referring to the guitarist’s earlier comment.

“Oh, okay sure, so when you say tomorrow will be good weather, there actually will be good weather, huh? “ John simply remarked.  
The lead singer just gave him a look but didn’t say anything as he sat down, smirking though.

Roger just smiled at the scene in front of him as he was slowly standing up, stretching himself while he letting out another loud yawn before sitting down at the table next to Fred, soon followed by John. 

The bassist had been right with his earlier comment. The drummer was indeed starving, after all, he hadn’t eaten since yesterday early afternoon, and the smell of Brian’s amazing dish made his stomach grumble.

“I’m glad to hear you are hungry.” The guitarist observed amusedly as he heard the blonde’s stomach making itself noticeable. The drummer just grinned before admiring the food on the table that Brian prepared.  
“Anyway, eat up!” He giggled, seeing his friend’s lusting faces looking longingly at the food.

And so, they did. 

The rest of the day was pretty calm and they mostly just spend it in front of the TV.  
No one spoke about the happenings from last night. There was only one time where Roger wanted to start apologizing to his friends all over again and to explain himself but the others quickly stopped him, saying that there was no need for that and that they were just happy to have him back. Just as simple as that.  
They had said it quite often already but after the happening of the last two days something in Roger changed; something in his brain suddenly clicked and it was right then that he finally realized and understood that they really meant it. That there was nothing to be sorry for and nothing to blame himself for; he would always have their support, their attention, their love, their friendship, no matter what was going to happen, no matter how bad the situation was. Roger could always count on them because ‘Friends will always be Friends’ was what John had said. It was a simple but yet so strong sentence with a deep meaning which the blond would always remember.

Friends will be Friends when you're through with life and all hope is lost,  
Hold out your hand 'cause friends will be friends,  
Right till the end!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the rather fluffy chapter this time!  
> Thank you for reading and all your comments and for supporting me!!  
> You are the best!♥
> 
> Also, this is the link to the picture that inspired me to write that one specific part of this chapter: https://66.media.tumblr.com/8ea82378dfcd452ebd4e3e1567fb4c2c/tumblr_pja3ggMfMS1sddqrx_400.jpg


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you finally have chapter 7!  
> I am sorry it took me so long.  
> I am currently trying to figure out how to write a bLOody pReSs conFeREncE!  
> Anyway, I really hope you will enjoy this!♥ 
> 
> Tumblr: roger-drummer-taylor

The following couple of days before the press conference passed quite quickly and without any major discussions or troubles whatsoever. None of the boys were really thinking about the happenings of the night anymore; of the night Roger stormed out, trying to run from himself. No one thought of it yet it wasn’t completely forgotten and it probably would never be. How could one forget something like that, anyway?

Of course, on the one hand, it had been something bad; something the boys would never want to experience ever again; especially the chaos of emotions they went through; the fear and the worry for their friend, but on the other hand it also entailed something good in a way; something good which is that the night it happened and the following day finally made Roger become clear that there was, in fact, nothing he should blame himself for; that what happened in Japan wasn’t entirely his fault.  
Of course, he was the one who broke down, the one who caused the others to stop the concert because they couldn’t continue without him and they wouldn’t have wanted to even if they could have; the one who was too stubborn to admit how he felt; the one who was the reason for the press conference but it wasn’t like he did it on purpose.  
The reason why all that happened; why he ignored the pain he was in, simply was because he wanted to prevent all that from happening; prevent to let his friends and fans down. The drummer didn’t know what was wrong with him himself if he would have known how bad it was, he definitely would have said something, after all, Roger really wasn’t stupid, he studied biology for Christ’s sake.

It took him too long to understand just that, however, though a bit blame would always remain in him.  
He knew his friends weren’t angry, mad or whatever but that didn’t mean that the rest of the world would react like that too. It didn’t mean that the fans wouldn’t blame him for what happened any less if they did, that is. His fans, the thousands of people he let down that day. 

This was the only thing left that the blond was still struggling with, no matter how hard he himself, as well as his friends, tried to convince him from the contrary.  
But famously, it was always easier said than done.

~~~

It was the morning before the press conference which was only a couple of hours away and the mood in the QUEEN flat was quite tense.

 

“Come on, Rog. You need to eat at least something before we are heading out.” Brian tried to get the blond to eat. 

It was unusual for Roger to not want to eat but everyone knew why it was like that. The drummer was nervous, anxious even. He wasn’t able to get some sleep last night either and it was showing. Large dark circles under each of his eyes.

Well that was just perfect, wasn’t it?  
Facing desperate reporters who are thinking of Roger as an irresponsible drug or alcohol addict while looking like complete and utter shit. 

 

“I’m just not hungry, Bri.” Roger lied while letting out a loud sigh. 

“Oh! Roger Taylor isn’t hungry?! Well, this is one for the books.” John commented sarcastically, hoping it might lighten up the mood but the drummer only gave him an annoyed look, though he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just looked back down of the plate in front of him. 

“Darling, no offense but if you collapse right in front of a herd of gormless rats who desperately trying to sell lies about you, about us, it won’t do either of us any good,” Freddie added as the other two nodded. 

Freddie had a point there, indeed. Roger showing up while looking like a truck ran over him wouldn’t do him any favor; wouldn’t help with making what happened to him believable.

“I fucking hate it when you are right.” The drummer muttered to himself, though loud enough for everyone to hear before taking a bite of the toast in front of him.

“I love you, too dear,” Freddie answered, quite pleased with himself while ruffling Roger’s blonde hair.

The younger man just huffed offended but, in the end, couldn’t manage to hide his smile. 

“It’s going to be just fine. We have the official doctor’s certificate which clearly shows that you had an appendix operation. Even ‘The Sun’ couldn’t lie about this, really.” Brian started again after he noticed Roger’s smile turning into a worried frown again.

“They could bloody claim it to be a lie as well, Brian. It not that hard.” The drummer answered a bit harsher than he actually intended to.  
“I mean, come on “ROGER TAYLOR: Sex, Drugs & Alcohol” sounds much better than “ROGER TAYLOR: Removal of his Appendix in Japan” and you can’t deny it.” 

The others just sighed and admitted defeat as no one really knew how to reply to this. Now Roger was the one having a point. He was, in fact, right, reporters can make anything and everything believable as long as it sounded good. It was sad, yes, but it was the truth.

 

“Well, in that case, Darling we better make them believe it!” Freddie suddenly and full of positivity broke the silence, much to Brian’s and John’s relief.  
“We’ll find a way!” The singer shrugged before standing up to make himself another cup of tea.

“But how in hell should I do that?!” The drummer asked almost desperate, running his hands through his now messy hair.  
“It’s not that easy. It’s not you guys they are talking shit about. It is me, folks. Me alone.”

The other three just looked at him with a frown.

“Exactly.” John started all of the sudden.  
There was quiet for a short moment and everyone turned their head to face the bassist. Not sure what to expect next.  
“You are right. It’s not us they are talking shit about but it’s us that is involved, too.” 

The blond looked at his friend, not sure what to say. Not sure if this was a try to make him feel guilty. Not sure he should feel bad about it or not.

“But that’s the point, you see.” John’s head moved from Roger to Brian. Who now had the same questioning frown in his face as Roger.  
“You keep on forgetting that you are not alone in this, Roger.” The brunette continued, much softer now, turning his head back to his blond friend.  
“Those idiots will use every opportunity to assail you because they think we, me, Fred and Bri, might not bother, that we might not care about this; about you; simply because they think you are alone in this. But you are not!”

The drummer looked at him, eyes wide open while thinking about what to say. He was indeed speechless but touched. He replayed his friend’s words in his head as Brian added something. Which made the blond rapidly turn his head from John into his direction.

“Deacs is right, Rog. We are one band! One family! That’s what they don’t know, that's what they don't see and that is what we will use against these bloody wankers.” 

Now it was Fred’s time to add something as he was walking out of the kitchen with the mentioned cup of tea in his hand, clearly having heard what had been said.

“Look at our lead guitarist and almost doctor in astrophysics getting full on libelous.” Freddie joked and the others couldn’t help but crack a smile.  
“I am proud of you.” He walked over to Brian, cheekily giving him a pat on his shoulder with his free hand while the guitarist just shook his head.  
“But seriously, Roggie, I agree with my Darlings over here.” He waved his arms to gesture at Brian and John.  
“Whatever is going to happen today, we have your back, dear. We always will. You have Friend's you can trust.”

“Thanks, guys.” Were the only words that managed to make it out of Roger’s mouth; that and a thankful smile at each man.

He wanted to add something to it. Once again, he wanted to tell them how grateful he was but somehow, he couldn’t. But that wasn’t bad because Brian, Freddie, and John knew exactly what Roger was thinking; what he meant, just like they knew that their drummer simply wasn’t the best when it came to expressing his feelings.

“Now finish up, lovies. Miami will be here in an hour or so. We have to look ravishing this afternoon!” Fred said, almost too enthusiastic for the other’s liking, trying to change the topic and lighten up the mood.

 

After they finished their breakfast and after some more thoughts and words about how they should manage today’s obstacle, they made themselves look “ravishing” as Freddie had put it and headed out. 

Miami decided to pick them up outside of their flat so they wouldn’t draw too much attention on them already.

Though, despite the encouraging words from earlier Roger was a nervous wreck. He didn’t even know why exactly. He had his friends at his side, he had a proof of what happened, how bad could it get? But still, his heart was racing like crazy. They hadn’t had many yet but Roger never was nervous about or before conferences. Maybe it was because the main reason for all this was he himself and not a new album they brought out and wanted to talk about or something alike.

However, he didn’t say much on the drive. Every now and then he answered to questions with a hum, nod or with a shaking head but not many words were involved.

Once they arrived, they headed straight to the building ignoring the flashing camera lights and the people screaming and already asking questions. 

Well, this was going to be hell for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you liked it or not! You can also contact me over my Tumblr if you like!  
> Thanks for reading, have a nice day!♥
> 
> Tumblr: roger-drummer-taylor
> 
> Also, did someone noticed the tiny line of the song 'Friends will be Friends' in this chapter?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so incredibly sorry for the long wait on chapter 8. I had a lot of struggles to continue with this. I was worried that my characterizations wouldn't be good enough and that I wouldn't be able to write the boys' reaction the way they should be. I tried my best and put a lot of thought in this so I really hope you will like the way it turned out. I don't want to disappoint anyone. 
> 
> Also, there is a brief mention of domestic violence close to the end but I didn't go into detail whatsoever.  
> This is fiction and in no way stretches the truth.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!♥
> 
> Tumblr: Roger-drummer-taylor

Once they entered the building where the press conference was going to start in about 30 minutes, Roger’s heart, that was already beating fast during the taxi ride, was now about to jump out of his chest and his anxiety was rising with every passing second.

He wanted to escape the building as soon as he first took a step inside, though, obviously, he couldn’t do that. It was too late. The people, had seen him and his friends entering it and if he was to escape now surely, he would raise more attention on him and the rumors would get worse and new lies would most definitely start to spread.

Gladly, the room where the band was supposed to wait until the conference would officially start was reporter- and journalist-free, meant that the four friends had time to try and calm down a bit before they would have to face a horde of impatient people and all hell would break loose. Of course, no one hoped for that to happen but they couldn’t exclude that possibility either.

The four men had to be ready for the most idiotic, insensitive and impolite questions and accusations possible and everyone knew for sure that there would be no way around it. The worst was that everything would be about their drummer this time and this was what worried Fred, John, and Brian the most. The friends knew that Roger actually could handle staying calm during interviews quite well and that all his answers were always smart and well thought through, the blond also seemed to manage to carry off negative criticism that included only him well too, even though it might hurt him emotionally or made him angry but today it was _only about him_ , not to mention that guilt preyed on his conscience already. Today they wouldn’t talk about some new album whatsoever; today was about Roger Taylor who had caused such a sensation with the happenings in Japan; today they would only accuse him and neither Freddie nor Brian and John were sure if Roger could handle that just as well as the few conferences they had before.

So, therefore, not only Roger was a nervous wreck, the others were too, even Miami, though they tried not to let it show. The friends really didn’t want to make Roger feel even worse than he already was feeling.

In the half an hour the band, including Miami, were waiting to be called, no one really talked that much. Every now and then either Brian, John or Freddie gave their blonde drummer a confident smile and reassuring words so Roger wouldn’t have such a hard time to calm down, though despite those kind gestures, not any more words were exchanged during their wait.

Everyone was thinking about replies to answer the questions they would probably get asked as well as what they would do in the worst-case scenario; _worst-case-scenario:_ Roger storming off or snapping or anything like that, but they were almost certain it wouldn’t come to that.

The friends knew how badly Roger wanted to set things right; how badly he wanted the lies and rumors to disappear but most of all how badly he wanted to apologize to his fans. In fact, Roger already prepared a little apology in his mind.

 

~~~

 

The band was surprised how quickly the 30 minutes had passed when one of the staff members suddenly ripped them out of their thoughts.

 

“Alright, Gentlemen, all is set. It’s time.”

 

Roger looked up at the man in front of him and then over to Fred, John and then Brian who sat next to him and who gently put his hand on his shoulder, noticing the way the drummer was shaking out of fear and nerviness.

Roger actually hated to be seen like that; so weak and vulnerable but he couldn’t help it, thankfully he knew that his friends would never think any less of him, they had made that clear what felt like a hundred times already and besides they all would probably react the same way. Who wouldn’t?! Just because he was afraid or nervous of something didn’t mean he was weak, he knew that but it just took some time until that would finally make it through Roger’s thick skull.

 

“It’s going to be just fine, Rog. Remember you aren’t alone in this. You’ve got us. Whatever they are claiming you to be or you to have done, it’s not true. We all know that.” Brian said, smiling at him before putting his hand off Roger’s shoulder and following Miami, who was following the staff member.

Roger just nodded but didn’t say anything, he just smiled back weakly but still surprisingly determined, grateful for the guitarist’s words while lightening up another cigarette to calm his nerves.

It was true what Brian had said, he wasn’t alone in this. He had Freddie who would probably have the pushiest answers in store to make the journalist all shut up. He had John who would manage to make people burst into flames with only a single glance and the sassiest comments in existence and he had Brian who would probably go all scientific and who had this gift of making people believe the words he said.

Roger felt so lucky to know he had his friends all by his side.

Though, he just hoped he was prepared for the worst. They all hoped for that.

 

~~~

 

Miami was the first one to step on the what seemed like a pedestal, quickly followed by Freddie, John, Brian, and Roger. On the enhancement there stood a long table with four standing microphones on it as well as four chairs behind the table.

The press hall wasn’t too big, yet a huge amount of people seemed to fit in. It was filled with journalists calling out their names, especially Roger’s as well as the clicking sound of the cameras and their flashlights. The drummer already started to feel that it wouldn’t take long for him to get a headache.

 

Miami went straight for the front corner of the pedestal, knowing he would quickly start the conference with a few words before the boys could do the rest.

The four band members sat down at the table, everyone looking into the crowd except for Roger, who wore his golden/brown aviator sunglasses while successfully trying to avoid the reporter’s faces, even though he knew that sooner or later he would have to face them anyway.

After about a minute the hall slowly came to quiet and Queen’s manager finally spoke a couple of words so the press conference could finally and officially begin. While Miami was doing so, Roger finally dared to look into the reporters greedy and impatient faces and he could see that each man and woman in the room was ready to raise their hands and to ask away.

After their manager finished, he headed for the back corner of the room, eyeing the crowd before his head turned into the direction of the boys, giving them a nod as to say that they could begin now.

Actually, Roger wanted to start with a couple of words to explain and tell the truth about what really had happened in Japan but he was still too nervous and no word seemed to want to escape his lips. Though after a second attempt to speak up he finally managed to say something.

 

“I - I’m glad to see that –“ Roger started, but he couldn’t continue.

 

“How are you, Mr. Taylor?”

 

Roger stopped talking immediately, wondering if he had gotten the question right. He looked over to Brian who sat to his left and then over to Freddie and John who were sitting to his right, trying to figure out if he didn’t just imagine that. Of all questions Roger had expected, someone asking him how he was doing, wasn’t one of them.

 

“I-I’m good, thanks.” He answered after a couple of seconds, looking back into the man’s direction.

 

“Well, you don’t look good.” The same reporter replied.

 

_Ah, well there were the words Roger was expecting._

 

“You really don’t.” Another man in the crowd agreed.

 

“Neither do the two you.” Freddie suddenly said, he was calm but you could clearly hear his annoyance.

 

“So, that means you are not doing good?” A woman close to the front asked, ready to write something down.

 

“I never said I –“Roger tried to say before someone else cut him off once more.

 

“Why did it take you so long to leave Japan? Was it a secret love interest that kept you there?” Another woman spoke.

 

Roger couldn’t believe his ears but he didn’t have time to think further about it because someone else thought it was necessary to interrupt.

 

“The newspapers are claiming you to have a drug or alcohol problems, is that true? What do you have to say about that?”

 

“Are you under the influence of drugs or alcohol right now?” Another woman called out.

 

"What is it you are taking?" The question came from the back of the room.

 

“Is that the reason you are wearing sunglasses?” Someone else quickly added.

 

“He is only wearing his sunglasses so he doesn’t have to see your sorry faces in real and actual color, you know, to make it bearable and easier to look into your lying and greedy eyes in the first place. Now that I’m thinking of it, I should have done the same.” John intruded. The bassist gave them a killing glance while he said that with such a calm but still sassy and cocky tone the boys rarely heard from him.

 

John barely said anything in interviews or conferences if he didn’t necessarily have to but when it was about people talking shit about his best friend and accusing him, he was ready to verbally tear them apart.

The reporters were taken aback when they heard the youngest of the band’s words but didn’t hesitate on continuing.

 

“You didn’t deny the fact that he is under drug or alcohol influence right now.” The same man who had asked the last question suddenly stated while writing something down once again.

A couple of other reporters mumbled in agreement to what has been said before someone else in the front exclaimed.

 

“So, it’s true.”

 

“No! It’s not. Would you just –“ Roger desperately tried to speak up but his voice was breaking at the end.

 

This was already a mess and they were not even ten minutes into the conferences. He felt helpless and just wanted to scream but he knew he couldn’t do that. Tears were forming in his eyes but he didn’t let them out. There was no way in hell he would cry in front of those awful liars. They weren’t worth it.

 

“I’ve heard you experienced domestic violence. Is that the reason for your problems? The reason you try to drown your sorrows and forget your past?” Someone else suddenly asked.

 

Roger stopped. Not knowing what to say. He never expected for that topic to reach the surface. He had experienced a certain amount of domestic violence in his past but how in God’s name did they find out about that. This was never supposed to come up in a conference that was actually supposed to be about his appendix removal and not some family issues he had to deal with in his past and on top of all that the false accusation about drug and alcohol problems. _What the hell was happening?!_

Also, John, Freddie, and Brian held their breaths as soon as this question got thrown into the room. They knew about that, Roger had told them but only briefly and he never went into detail. Though actually, the only one who knew more about this delicate subject was Brian but only because he knew Roger since their college years. But Brian also knew that Roger was rather confident when it came to this topic as well. Of course, it had been hard for the drummer and he often had been having sleepless nights because of this but during the years he learned to live with it. He learned that something like this was nothing to be ashamed of and that those were things that should be exposed and talked about and the drummer was hoping that one day this would be a thing in the past.

Though, it was safe to say that he only managed to learn and look at things like the way he did now with the help of Brian’s and later Freddie’ and John’s help. His friends were the reason he was so confident about this topic now.

Yes, the blond could deal with it. He was just pissed, nervous and startled about the fact that people like the ones sitting in front of them had found out about it and he feared that this would be the new headline of _The Sun_ or whatever newspaper or magazine thought it would be necessary and fun to bring up in the next couple of days.

_God, how they all hated the media._

Obviously, the crowd was a mumbling mess after this question. It was Brian’s turn now who had the sudden urge to say something; to help his best friend because he sure as hell knew that all this wasn’t easy for Roger who was currently struggling to come up with something to say and to make the crowd shut up.

 

“Would you all just shut your mouths for a while and listen!” Brian suddenly spoke up, his voice was almost as calm as Freddie’s and John’s had been yet it was strong, loud and drawn with a hint of annoyance and displease. And indeed, to the band’s surprise, the room went quiet.

“You all are claiming to know the man who is sitting next to me.” The guitarist gestured at Roger, who was looking at him with wide eyes now, wondering what else his best friend had to say.

“Don’t get me wrong but it is a mystery to me as to how you have gotten into the position to call yourself reporters and journalists in the first place. You are being selfish and insensible, this is not the way to approach someone you don’t know at all. Someone who nearly lost his life.” The people in front of the boys were shocked to hear those words leaving Brian’s mouth, but he didn’t regret what he was saying, so he simply continued.

“You all are claiming Roger to be someone he is not and this is just wrong, also given the circumstances that you have not the slightest idea what he has been going through, what he is like in private, what a good human being and friend he is. You know nothing. Nothing at all. You don’t even give him the chance to answer your questions, to let him speak up. So, before you accuse him of something which clearly is not the truth and you don’t have proof of, just be reasonable and let him talk first, okay? Let him explain. Let us explain. These past weeks weren’t easy for him, for neither of us. So cut this bullshit, sit still, shut your mouths and just listen to what he has to say, understand?” Brian finished, quite satisfied with himself.

 

“Or do you need to grow some brains before that can happen?” Freddie supported him while John nodded, giving the crowd in front of him a look that neither Brian nor Roger or Freddie have ever seen on his face before.

Roger had the strong urge to just jump off his chair and to pull his friends into a hug but he knew he couldn’t do that right now. The tears in his eyes changed from tears of anger into happy tears, happy to know that he had friends who would always be there to support him. The blond knew that already yet he was still surprised how strong their love and friendship was.

The drummer suddenly felt such a confidence rise in him that he hasn’t felt for quite some time now and he as well as the singer and bassist knew exactly what Brian’s plan of action was, needless to say, that the guitarist mastered it quite well already. His friends clearly had his back, the crowd finally shut up and Roger had their attention now.

This was his chance; his opportunity to finally explain what had happened to him; to set things right and to speak up.

Therefore, he was shoving all his worries aside, opened his mouth and explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was chapter 8. I really hope I didn't disappoint any of you. If I did then I am really sorry, but as I said I tried my best. Please, please, please let me know what you think and if you think I should continue or leave it be.  
> Thanks for reading. Love you all!♥
> 
> Tumblr: Roger-drummer-taylor


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back with chapter 9! Please enjoy!♥  
> Sorry, for the long wait once more but work is being a real arse to me. I hope this chapter will make up for that.  
> Also, thank you for all your kind and loving comments on my latest chapter. It was really good to read that so many of you still continued to read my story as well as you thinking I managed the whole press thing quite well. Thank you for that!♥  
> I hope you will like this chapter just as much.
> 
> Tumblr: Roger-drummer-taylor

“And this is what happened, really.” Roger finished his explanation, his hands sweaty still from the excitement and worrisome and the adrenalin that was rushing through his body.

Though, after he was finished, he felt such a relief falling upon him that was long due. The drummer knew, that some journalists would still question what he had been saying, but he was glad it was out. It felt like somebody took a heavy weight off his shoulders. He looked over to his right to face Freddie and John, who were both smiling at him, happy and proud. Then Roger looked to his left only to meet Brian’s eyes. Obviously, the guitarist was just as proud of him and happy as the other two. He gave him a soft slap on his back, saying _‘You’ve done great!’_.

The friends were also amazed at how well Roger had chosen his words to explain the happenings and the circumstances of the situation he and his friends were currently finding themselves in.

At that the blond turned his head back to the crowd, scanning their faces. Some still seemed as if they would doubt what they’ve just heard, others were scribbling down something on their papers but there were also a couple of people who seemed rather touched by what had been coming from the blond drummer. One could almost think that they had started to sympathize the band for what happened, especially Roger.

 

“As touching as this story might seem, we don’t have any proof whatsoever of you, Mr. Taylor, really spending such a long amount of time in hospital due to a _simple_ operation.” One of the reporters suddenly threw into the room that was filled with silence before.

“How can we be sure you are not lying to us to cover up the rumors about you that are going around?” The man added and who obviously belonged to those who still seemed to doubt the whole story.

 

 _“A simple operation?!_ ” Freddie repeated the journalist’s words, not believing his ears.

“I’m sorry, Darling, but are you sure your ears are okay? Or is just your brain that’s not working properly? Did you understand any of what Roger just said?!”

 

“I did, but it doesn’t seem right to me. I just-”

 

“Oh, okay. It doesn’t seem right to you. I see. Tell me, what exactly doesn’t seem right to you? That my friend spent a month in a bloody hospital fighting for his life or is it the fact that you just don’t understand what an appendix removal is? Shall I start explaining it for five-year-olds? Maybe that will help you understand.” John started, the sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable.

 

Once again, the bassist managed to surprise the crowd of reporters. Some who believed Roger’s story without any further doubt even had to chuckle slightly at John’s comment.

 

“To put it short and to repeat it so that also _the uneducated_ under us will understand. Appendix removal is a serious business, which is not to be trifled with. If you don’t act quick enough it can end badly for the one suffering from it. Freddie, John and I, can speak of luck that Roger is sitting here with us at this table right now - after everything he is been through.” Brian then said, his face more serious than ever.

“You should be ashamed of yourself but if you desperately need proof. Then here, - we have it.” The guitarist added as he held up the official doctor’s certificate, which they got in case proof was necessary to make people believe what happened.

 

“Happy now?” Freddie quickly added, clearly pissed. Next, to the singer, John shook his head in disgust at the reporter while looking straight into his face.

 

“Well, to be honest, not really-” He replied, and the boys couldn’t believe their ears.

“You said an appendix removal is a serious business and something you should act quick about, right?”

 

“Yes, that is what I said,” Brian replied, trying to get the man’s drift.

 

“Now, I wonder, don’t you three, as his friends, think that Mr. Taylor just, you know, acted selfishly? Clearly, he must have realized that something was wrong with him, right? If he would have done something earlier, that whole-“ the reporter started but couldn’t continue.

 

“Shut your bloody mouth, will you!?” Freddie spat out and surprisingly the man did as he was told.

 

Roger’s eyes winded behind his sunglasses and tears were forming itself in his eyes once again as he listened to what the reporter said. The drummer suddenly felt sick to the bone. Roger knew his friends told him not to blame himself for what happened but those words reminded him just why he blamed himself in the first place. He could have acted quicker, that’s true. He knew that something was wrong with him before the concert had started but he just refused to act on it. That was his mistake. Though, on the other hand, the whole concert would have gotten canceled either way, would it not have been?

Roger didn’t know what to think anymore. He was confused and scared, just like that night he was running away, hiding. He felt helpless and he hated it. The drummer wanted to say something after he looked over to his friends who looked at the man in front of them as if ready to kill but Roger couldn’t get to it.

 

“You call that _selfish?!_ The reason why he did what he did; why he bloody refused to act on his pain was because he didn’t want to let us and his fans down, Darling. When will that finally get into your thick head?!” The singer continued.

 

“And just so you know, even if he would have said something beforehand, the show would have gotten canceled anyway. Just bloody think before you talk.” John supported him.

 

“What Roger did, was, by all means, never _“selfish_ ”. He was doing the exact same thing every single one of us would probably have done too.” Brian then added, while gesturing at his friends to make his point clear.

“How dare you to think such a thing and speak of our friend like that? There is no way we would think he acted selfishly because of all that.” The guitarist finished while Freddie and John gave an approving nod.

 

As astonishing as it was, the reporter indeed said nothing after that anymore. In fact, no one said anything anymore. Everyone in the crowd seemed finally satisfied with the given information and to be honest, no one wanted to upset the boys even more, anyway.

It was a big relief to the band, including Miami who has been tense throughout the whole process.

Once again, Roger was amazed by all the love, care and support his three friends were giving him. He smiled weakly but meaningful at each of them before his eyes fell on the standing microphone in front of him again.

And just when everyone thought the conference was over and no more words would be spoken, Roger rose his voice one more time.

 

“I’d like to say something else-” The drummer interrupted the silence in the press hall.

Brian, Freddie, and John looked at him in surprise wondering what their blonde friend was going to say now.

“-since that topic was already approached upon, I would like to officially apologize to all the fans I let down that day and the following weeks of me not being capable to perform-” Roger started, all eyes on him.

“It was never my intention for things to turn out the way they did- “

 

The drummer added some more apologizing words, explaining that QUEEN would try to make it up to those they disappointed as well as that it wouldn’t be too long until they would go back to Japan and that the band was looking forward to it.

 

“Lastly, I want to thank my friends here -,” Roger then gestured to John, Freddie, Brian and, of course, Miami.

“- for being at my side and having my back the whole time. I think there is nothing better than friendship, really, and I appreciate that.” He finished off, smiling a bit now.

“Thank you.” He said before turning away from the crowd, facing his friends.

 

Roger had never been good when it came to express his feelings and it was unlike him, but he felt it was necessary to let the world know that he was thankful for his friends, his family, the people who meant the world to him, who forgave him without a doubt, no matter how stupid his decisions sometimes were or how bad his temper tantrums could get and how stubborn he was. He knew his friends would always be by his side and he was unbelievable thankful for that.

After all, Friends would always be Friends.

 

After the blonde’s last words, they called it day and immediately headed to the back door of the building waiting for Miami who was still talking to some staff members about how things would continue from now on.

 

“You know, you almost had me crying back in there, Blondie,” Freddie said smilingly, jogging his elbow against Roger before lightening a cigarette. Brian and John could only agree to that. All four (including Miami) had been feeling touched.

 

Roger chuckled but said nothing, instead he was just taking another puff of his cigarette.

If he was honest, he would have started to cry in there too, but not because he was sad or angry but because he was just so amazed by his friend’s love and support. Once again, he thought that he would never be able to thank them for what they did for him today; for the past weeks, but he would try his best to make it up to them somehow. The drummer knew his friends didn’t want to hear another apology. He was aware that for them what they did today was understood and something they would do again in a heartbeat.

And so, the blond decided to remain in silence, hoping that one day he would be able to do something as wholehearted; as kind and caring for them just like Brian, Freddie and John did for him.

 

“I’m glad this whole press crap is over now.” John ripped him out of his thoughts.

“I really couldn’t stand a single person in there.”

 

“Oh, we noticed.” Brian laughed, which immediately lightened up the mood.

“I was scared of you myself there for a second.”

 

“Yes, Darling, if looks could kill, none of those people would be alive anymore,” Freddie added amused as the other three started to laugh again.

 

Not too long after that, Miami finally joined the boys and they headed back to their flat. The ride back home was just as quiet as the Taxi ride there. The difference was though, that this time each and every man had a soft smile on their face, even Miami. Happy and relieved, that this was done; that the truth was out. Everyone knew that some rumors would probably still circulate, but wasn't that always the case. Now audio- and even a couple of video-recordings existed which would, for sure, make it harder for journalists to publish lies. Finally, something good for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading. Love ya!♥
> 
> Tumblr: Roger-drummer-taylor

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to text me personally, have requests (I'm doing ships as well) or just are searching for a QUEEN content blog follow me on Tumblr @roger-drummer-taylor or/and my main @nerd-dowell.


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